Weddings in an Unforgiving World
by DisneyPrincessKelly
Summary: Finally, my contribution to the Aaric fandom. Eric and Maggie have a conversation about Maggie's relationship that gives Eric an idea about his own. Aaric and Gleggie. One-shot. Fluff. R&R!


Weddings in an Unforgiving World

Maggie eyed Eric across the table as he ate his spaghetti with the kind of table manners that her mom would have approved of.

Maggie had liked Eric from the moment she met him. There was something so easygoing about him. He hadn't let this world beat him- in fact, he seemed to thrive in it. Maggie admired his perseverance and optimism. She had been delighted when she ran into Eric earlier that day and he had invited her to join him for dinner at his house. She knew that he only invited her because he wanted some company since Aaron was out recruiting with Daryl. She was still flattered.

Suddenly, Maggie noticed that Eric had almost finished eating. If she didn't start a conversation now, she would be at the mercy of whatever Eric wanted to talk about. She couldn't bear the thought of another one-sided conversation about Mrs. Neidermeyer's damned pasta maker.

"So, how did you meet Aaron?" Maggie asked cheerfully.

She had expected Eric to light up when she said Aaron's name, but instead, he frowned.

"Oh, you know. Work," Eric said noncommittally, which was a large departure from his energetic speech of only a few minutes ago.

"That's it? Work?" Maggie asked.

"Here's something far more interesting than work: I had no idea that Carol made such great cookies! Do you know where she learned to cook like that?" Eric asked, awkwardly changing the subject.

Maggie put her fork down and wiped her mouth with her napkin. When she looked at Eric, she was smiling sadly and knowingly.

"You don't have to pretend with me, Eric. My man is out there, too," after a pause she added: "It's okay to miss Aaron."

Eric stared at her as he contemplated how he wanted the rest of the evening to proceed. Eventually, he gave in. He put down his fork and sighed deeply before he began: "Aaron and I both worked for the same NGO in D.C. Our first mission together was to Benghazi." After a pause, he added: "I still remember what he was wearing when I first saw him."

Smiling, Eric joked, "It's not difficult since he wears pretty much the same thing every day."

Maggie laughed.

"He was so far in the closet back then, but I knew. Well…I hoped," Eric looked down into his lap sadly.

"Eric, what's wrong?" Maggie asked.

Eric looked up at her again and said, "Aaron and I were together when the world changed and we've stayed together through all of it. Every step of the way. We lost family together, ran for our lives together, killed roamers together, and found Alexandria together. When Deanna made Aaron a recruiter, I immediately volunteered to go with him before Deanna could even tell me what job she wanted for me. It didn't matter what Deanna wanted. There was no way in hell I was going to let Aaron go anywhere without me. I didn't want to let him out of my sight. No matter what, I was going to keep doing what I had been doing since the day I met Aaron: following him anywhere and everywhere." Eric paused briefly before continuing, "This is the first time Aaron is going on an overnight run without me."

Trying to be reassuring, Maggie said, "He'll be fine. He's with Daryl."

"I don't trust Daryl!" Eric snapped.

Seeing the confused and slightly worried expression on Maggie's face, Eric quickly apologized, "Sorry, I didn't mean to- that's not what I meant." Eric sighed. "I know Daryl is a good guy and I trust him with my life. Just not Aaron's life. I don't trust anyone with Aaron's life other than me. I know that sounds stupid–"

"It's not stupid at all," Maggie interrupted. "I get it."

Maggie took a moment to look down at her wedding ring and twirl it between her fingers before continuing: "When I first met Glenn, he was introduced to me as the go-to-town guy. In those early days, our main interaction was as run partners. And then one day, my father went missing. Rick and Glenn were sent after him. It was the first time since meeting him that Glenn was sent on a run without me. I was scared to death. That's when I knew I had fallen in love with him. I had only known Glenn a couple of weeks and I was more scared for him than my own father. But since then, Glenn and I have gone on so many runs. Together and apart. And I don't worry anymore. I know he'll be okay. Glenn has been put in the most dangerous and terrible situations, but he always manages to come back to me alive. I don't want to say that Glenn was made for this world because he's not. But he's adjusted well. He knows what he's doing out there. And so do Aaron and Daryl."

Maggie looked up for the first time during her speech and saw a confused look on Eric's face. "What is it?" she asked.

"You and Glenn met after the world ended?" Eric asked.

"Yeah, we did," Maggie smiled. "We found each other in an unforgiving world. We've been very lucky."

"Did Gabriel perform the ceremony?" Eric asked.

Maggie laughed. "What would be the point in getting a marriage certificate? Marriage is more than tax benefits. It's a statement. You're telling yourselves and anyone who will listen that you love another person and want to spend the rest of your lives with them. Who cares if people don't think our marriage is legitimate? It's real to us and that's all that matters."

A comfortable silence settled over the table as Eric contemplated how Maggie had altered his life forever with a description of her relationship that was, to her, simple and straight-forward.

After a long pause, as Maggie finished off her food, Eric said, "I've known I was gay since I was 7 years old. And in all that time, I never dreamed that I would get married because I thought that there were too many legal obstacles in my way."

Beaming, Maggie reached across the table to grab Eric's hand and squeezed it.

A few days later, Aaron came through the front door around mid-day. Eric was reading a book in the living room when he heard the sound of his man returning home. Eric sprang from his spot on the couch as best he could and, with more difficulty than he would have liked, stumbled into the foyer to greet Aaron.

Aaron's face broke into a grin when he saw his boyfriend, but before he could even say "hello," Eric had already started talking.

"Marry me!"

Aaron stopped dead in his tracks and dropped his bag to the floor. "What?" he said with a shocked expression on his face.

Eric took a breath to calm his nerves and said, "We are living in a unique situation, Aaron. We are no longer bound by the same laws that we were before. Our society as we knew it was destroyed two years ago. We don't have to be afraid. I want to take advantage of the situation. And I want to do that by doing what I've wanted to do for the past two years. I want to marry you."

There was a long pause as Aaron's brain struggled to keep up with what his eyes and ears were telling him. Weakly, he said, "So are you asking me a question or just making a statement?"

Taking the hint, Eric stepped closer until he was right in front of Aaron. He got down on one knee and grabbed his boyfriend's hand. And as he felt how right Aaron's hand felt in his, he knew that he had never been so sure of anything in his life.

"Aaron, will you marry me?" Eric asked.

"Oh my god, yes!" Aaron laughed.

Beaming, Eric stood up, grabbed his partner's face in his hands, and crashed their lips together. For what seemed like an eternity, the two men stood in the foyer of the house that they lived in together at the end of the world and kissed passionately.

When they finally broke apart, Aaron asked, "Who will perform the ceremony?"

Eric replied, "Maggie and Glenn didn't need a ceremony and neither do we. All that matters is that we love each other. And I do love you."

Aaron said, "I love you, too."

"We do have one problem, though," Eric said.

"What's that?" Aaron asked cautiously.

"We'll need to find some rings. And I don't want them to come off a roamer like Maggie's. I guess I'll just have to join you on your next run," Eric said.

Aaron smiled and said, "Fine by me. I have missed you. I'll tell Daryl to take some time off."

Eric shook his head. "No need for that. Daryl's a good person to have by your side out there. Plus, we'll be able to cover more ground. He really likes you. I want him to like me, too."

"He does," Aaron said. After a pause, he asked, "So…what? Are we married now?"

"Not yet," Eric said with a twinkle in his eye. "First, we have to consummate the marriage."

"Naturally," Aaron replied with a cheeky grin.

"Come on, love" Eric said as he took his husband's hand and gently led him to their bedroom.


End file.
